Compensation for Osim shares bungle on the way for affected investors

SINGAPORE - Investors who had sold Osim shares on April 5 at a price below $1.39 will soon receive letters with instructions on how to receive additional payment for their sales.

Credit Suisse, acting on behalf of Osim, said in a statement on the Singapore Exchange website on Tuesday night that these letters had been despatched by the SGX to its brokerage members.

Mr Sim launched a bid in late March to take Osim private with an initial offer of $1.32 per share that was later raised to $1.37.

It was later revealed that on April 5 a number of Osim shares were "inadvertently" purchased at prices ranging from $1.38 to $1.39, which were higher than the final offer of $1.37 then.

Vision Three later raised the final offer to $1.39 at the behest of the Securities Industry Council (SIC). This was to ensure equality of treatment, one of the key principles underpinning the takeover codes.

Osim founder Ron Sim then said he would compensate shareholders who had sold their stock below the latest offer price.

The compensation will cover the difference between $1.39 and all the transacted sale prices below that level. So a person who sold his 10,000 Osim shares at $1.375 on April 5 will receive a payment of $150.

The Straits Times

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